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UCL Professor seconded to leading HIV research centre in South Africa

Deenan Pillay, Professor of Virology at UCL, is today named as the new Director of the
Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, one of the Wellcome
Trust’s major overseas programmes.

The Africa Centre is part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)
and is based within a rural population with one of the highest burdens
of HIV in the world. There, it carries out research into the impact of
the virus on the local community and, in partnership with the local
Department of Health, runs one of the region's largest rural,
primary-care-level antiretroviral therapy programmes. It also has a
strong capacity-building programme, providing opportunities for staff to
study towards university degrees, including Master's degrees and
doctorates, and for community members to gain other skills-based
training.

Deenan Pillay is Professor of Virology, and Co-Director of the
Division of Infection and Immunity, at UCL. He is a
clinical virologist, having trained in London, Newcastle and San Diego,
and has a long standing research and clinical interest in HIV virology,
particularly related to the study of global HIV drug resistance
and transmission. He helped establish the Bloomsbury Research Institute, a
partnership between infectious disease research groups from UCL and the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

This is a very exciting new challenge. The potential to answer some of the key remaining questions relating to spread of infections such as HIV and TB is immense.

Professor Deenan Pillay, Director of the Africa Centre

Dr Ted Bianco, Acting Director of the Wellcome Trust, says: "We are
delighted that Deenan Pillay has agreed to take up the role of Director
of the Africa Centre. Deenan is a highly respected clinical investigator
in the research and public health communities.He has shown great
leadership in creating partnerships amongst researchers and
institutions, as illustrated by the Bloomsbury Research Institute. Such
experience will prove extremely valuable in building the collaborative
relationships that will maximise the value of the Africa Centre."

Professor Pillay says: "This is a very exciting new challenge. The
potential to answer some of the key remaining questions relating to
spread of infections such as HIV and TB is immense. To do so in the
dynamic setting of South Africa, with its rapidly emerging biomedical
research strength, is a tremendous privilege."

Professor Nelson Ijumba, UKZN's Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research,
says: "UKZN would like to congratulate Professor Pillay on his
appointment and hope that, through his leadership, the Africa Centre
will continue to be at the forefront of knowledge production and
community empowerment in HIV/AIDS."

The Africa Centre was established by the Wellcome Trust in
partnership with the South African Medical Research Council in 1998 and
employs around 350 people, including around 25 scientists. The
cornerstone of its research programme is a biannual household
demographic survey that since 2000, has collected data on births,
deaths, marriage and migration events, as well as household economics.
The survey covers a population of around 90,000 people in 11,000
households.

An additional annual HIV surveillance study, established in 2003,
covers adults 15 years and older, collecting data on HIV status, sexual
behaviour and relationships, and other health issues. The Centre also
has a virology laboratory at the Medical School in Durban, with research
relating to the dynamics of HIV in breast milk and population viral
phylogenetics.

The Centre has been behind several high profile research papers
recently, including two papers in the journal Science this year
demonstrating for the first time the positive impact of antiretroviral
therapy on the rate of new HIV infections in a community setting (1) and
that such therapies are a highly cost-effective investment for the
people of South Africa (2).

Professor Pillay will take up his post at the Africa Centre on a
secondment from UCL on 1 November 2013.